Futility Closet

Lights Out

Posted in Oddities by Greg Ross on March 21st, 2008

On May 19, 1780, the sky went dark over New England. From Portland, Maine, to southern New Jersey, candles were required between noon and midnight; Connecticut legislator Abraham Davenport prepared himself for the Day of Judgment.

But it cleared up the following night. Probably it was really a combination of heavy clouds, fog, and smoke from forest fires.